"Oh, you're just in time."

In the time it had taken them to get to the Gate, Nyal had almost forgotten what the dragon looked like, the only thing he knew for certain were the deep red eyes. The same eyes he had seen at Queen Astors ball. He hadn't been mistaken. The dragon had been there.

There was a faint memory of him, of scales grown around eyes and on hands, of blue eyes changing to red. That had changed. It seemed that the red in his eyes were permanent and that the dark green scales were like a sickness, crawling all over his skin until there was no flesh left. But that wasn't the biggest change, no, that was the wings. He had them spread out behind his back, a show of power. They were the same colour as his scales, the leathery skin stretched taught over strong bones. He still wore the Ammos royal garb from the first time Nyal had seen him.

He had become a dragon, transformed almost completely like Corpius Ringwild's book said he would. That just made him all the more dangerous.

"You're lucky," he started in a gravelly voice, almost like he had lost his voice. "I just got here. Wouldn't want you to miss the show after you've put so much effort to be here."

"There will be no show," Elora said simply, flaring her wings out. Nyal glared at the dragon, pulling the water from his flask to wind it around himself. Something thumped next to him, like heavy footsteps. A glance out of the corner of his eye showed a gigantic wolf, reaching up to Nyal's shoulders and covered in thick brown fur. Mikahil bared his teeth at their adversary. He knew somewhere nearby Ragen was showing what he was made of.

"That's what you think," the dragon replied. "I've have been through too much to stop now, my dear Keeper." He reached into his pants pocket, pulling out a small piece of wood. A quick glance at the Gate told Nyal that it was the same size and shape as the gap in the middle. This had to be the Key.

The dragon scoffed and turned away from them, giving Nyal a perfect view of the scaly leathery wings sprouting out his back, the shirt torn in two places to fit them.

He growled, pulling on his water and stepping forward. He couldn't let the dragon get to the Gate, no matter what, and it certainly didn't matter how scared he was. He was preparing to throw ice at the dragon, knowing that his water was its weakness, when a wall of orange filled his vision.

He jumped back with a yelp, hearing Mikhail let out a surprised growl. How? The dragon hadn't done a thing, so where had the fire come from? He pulled more water, looking around for any source of the flames as they dissipated.

"What's going on?" Ragen demanded as Mikhail growled.

"You thought you were the only one to gather followers, my dear Keeper?" the dragon said, looking over his shoulder at them with a smirk.

Footsteps sounded to his left, and Azel walked out of the shadows, scowling at the group. He conjured up his flames, lighting up the corners of the cavern.

Nyal cursed. That's where he had disappeared off to after Elora had thrown him out of the window. The dragon had manipulated him into fighting for him.

"You deal with the warlock," Elore ordered, looking to Nyal and Mikhail. "Ragen, with me." Wasn't I meant to be the one weakness of the dragon? he thought, but never said. Instead, Nyal nodded at her, turned his water into ice, and ran for Azel. He immediately dodged to the side, watching the fireball fly past him.

pounced forwards, roaring like the animal he had transformed into. His sudden attacks caused Azel to concentrate on him only, ignoring Nyal completely and throwing fire around like a mad man. Nyal smirked and threw water at the other warlock, who fell to the fround with a grunt.

He took that chance to check on Elora and the Dragon. She had gotten him away from the Gate, but the two of them were now flying through the air in an almost comedic chase. Ragen was standing down on the ground nearby, pushing on the air they were flying through and yelling profanities at them.

"Nyal!" a voice yelled. Azel, still fighting against Mikhail as if he were no problem for him, sneering at Nyal. "Fight me!"

Sparing one final glance at Elora, hoping to the Gods that she would be okay, he threw his water at Azel. The other warlock dodged with a laugh, shooting flames in all directions, mixing with the flames the dragon was breathing at Elora nearby.

Mikhail swiped at him with a growl as Nyal ran forward, preparing to attack with all he had. If he could stop Azel quickly, then he could help Elora defeat the dragon. He just hoped that her and Ragen could hold him off for long enough.

"You wont stop me, Keeper! This is my duty!" the dragon bellowed above him, the air around them whooshing like wind during a storm.

Ignoring the words being yelled around him, Nyal drew more water from his flask. He lunged forward like he was pushing on something heavy and shot as much water forward as he could manage.

Azel fell backwards with an angry yell, releasing the fire he held in his hands. It hit Mikhail on the side, causing him to cry out and lick at the wound.

Nyal spared a second to put his comrade out before stalking towards Azel. The other warlock crawled to his feet with a pant, only to be pushed back to the stony ground by one of Mikhail's big paws. He seethed on the floor of the cavern, conjuring fire in his palms once again.

"Move!" Nyal yelled before doing the exact opposite and getting closer. He had water to protect himself, he could put it out. He pushed water at Azel's hands but it barely stopped the flames.

The only possible way to save himself from being burned like he had in Fiume, something he did not want to experience again, was to build up the water in front of his chest and face. When Azel finally attacked, the flames would only induce minimal burns.

The most damage to come from Azel's attack was being flung through the air like he was a childs doll. Mikhail was lucky enough to have gotten out of the way in time. Nyal found him standing in the dark of the entrance tunnel of the cavern.

He jumped to his feet, flinging all the water he could pull from his flask at Azel, freezing it as soon as it was in the air. He pounded the fire warlock with ice over and over again, only pushing him back a cingle step. Azel hit back hard, throwing the fire around as if he had no control over it.

Again and again the two of them traded elements, beating each other with their magic but never doing any lasting damage. Azel's clothing was soaked and his head was bleeding from being hit with ice. Nyal on the other hand could feel his skin burning with every impact and knew his clothing was scorched beyond repair.

"And you call yourself a good warlock!" Nyal yelled, throwing more ice at Azel. "How could you do this? That dragon is trying to destroy the realm! It's your job as part of the guild to stop him, not work with him!"

"The realm doesn't matter!" Azel bellowed. "The only thing I want anymore is to be better than you, to get rid of you!" A wall of fire came his way, filled his vision until all he saw was orange flame licking towards him. He ducked and rolled, pulling at his water to retaliate.

Nothing happened, the wall of flames shot passed and Nyal had no water left. He cursed, looking around the cavern for any water close by.

Curling darkness shot over head, followed by Elora's billowing cloak and wings and a gust of wind from Ragen. She flew over them and over the entrance way, chasing after the laughing dragon. The rushing of the waterfall outside could barely be heard over all the-

The waterfall. There was an unlimited supply of water rushing down from above them. He just needed to get Azel closer, much closer. He pulled his flask from his belt and dropped it, running for the entrance way before Azel had time to notice what was going on.

"You can't run from me Nyal!" he roared, stomping after him.

Maikhail looked at the warlock like he had gone insane, his ears twitching and he had tilted to the side. "We need to get him to the waterfall," Nyal told him, panting. "I need the water and I need your help."

Jeremiah nodded, and ran for Azel, sword held high. Azel conjured up his flames, throwing them at the three men. Everywhere he looked, Nyal could see rock or flames, steel or fur as the battled their way to the entrance.

The roaring of the waterfall got closer and closer. Mikhail pounced at Azel, knocking him to the floor. There was a second where Nyal thought the angry werewolf was going to kill him, maul him to death (which was what he deserved), but he was quickly pushed backwards by the onslaught of fire Azel let out.

The warlock was constantly battered by ice and paw as Nyal tried to get closer and closer to the only source of water, none of the attacks doing much to actually kill him. As it turned out, Nyal didn't need to be right next to the waterfall to pull on the water, they were only halfway through the tunnel when he could feel the water rushing towards him.

It was just as the water was rushing towards them that Mikail got a face full of flames. He howled, dropping to the ground as his fur burned, the smell wafting into Nyals nostrils completely unwanted. The lycanthrope dropped to the ground, screeching inhumanly.

Azel conjured up his flames again and stalked towards Mikhail's prone form. The lyncathrope stared up at him but didn't move. The warlock smirked and sent a brief glace Nyal's way

"No!" Nyal bellowed, energy surging through him. The water split as it rushed down the cavern, half of it hitting Mikhail so hard he collapsed against the rocky floor, the other half snaking it's way towards the other warlock.

It hit Azel squarely in his open mouth, and Nyal had to concentrate on healing Jeremiah while he wormed the gushing water down Azel's throat. He tried with all his might not to get the two confused.

Azel's fire went wide, hitting the wall with a woosh as he choked on the river water rushing down his throat. He gurgled, letting out a muffled scream, throwing his hands around widly. Fire went flying, lighting up the tunnel brightly.

Nyal pushed harder, groaning with the effort. Beside him, Mikhail climbed to his feet and began to make his way away from the water streaming towards them. "Get out of here!" Nyal yelled, barely sparing a glance at the man.

Azel choked again, falling on his back on the floor. He squirmed and threw fire and screamed and struggled, until he finally figured out that it was no use. The water was flowing into his lungs, there was no hope. Nyal knew that, and kept going. If he didn't do it now, it would come back to hurt him.

Azel let out one last burst of fire, one last squirm, staring right into Nyal's eyes. Water drenched, most still snaking into his wide open mouth, eyes narrowed only on him, like he only had one goal in mind during death. It was a face that would haunt the warlock for the rest of his life. They both stilled, but only one was still breathing.

And breathing he was, panting loudly, hands rested on his knees and the rest of the water dropped onto the floor of the cavern. If he turned, he could see Jeremiah and Mikhail heading out to the waterfall, to safety. He only hoped he had healed Jeremiah's face properly.

It was then that he heard a loud thud coming from the cavern, where the Gate was. With only Elora in mind, he jumped over Azel's still warm body, pulled water into his flask and hands and started running as fast as he could back to Elora and the dragon and the Gate.

He found Ragen leaning against the wall near the entrance, panting loudly and wiping at the blood running down his face. Nyal only spared him a glance, healing his wounds quickly and telling him to get out. All the while, the dragon roared above them.

"I killed my friend for this!" he hissed. "The one person I cared about! I will not stop now!" King Wyndel, Nyal thought as fire flew out above his head, causing Elora to drop low to the ground.

"Are you alright?" she asked, wincing. Nyal nodded, searching with his eyes for any wounds and healing them even though he could not see them.

Looking up, he could see the dragon - Darren, if he remembered correctly, his name was Darren - was exhausted from fighting the Gate Keeper. His wings flapped lazily in the air, his red eyes locked on Nyal.

"Healer!" he yelled, flying forward quicker than Nyal could think.

He shot out water, watching it collide with the darkness Elora let out from her hands. The dragon spun backwards, the fire he was breathing out spiraling around the cavern. Elora launched herself into the air, her hands guiding the darkness around her.

Nyal shot all the water he could muster at the dragon, smirking when he heard him roar in anger. He was getting to close to the Gate, and as far as he knew, still had the Key.

"This is mine! This is my right!"

Darren flew straight into Elora, knocking them into the roof of the cavern, small rocks falling down the ground. Nyal tried to find an opening as the pair tumbled in a mix of darkness and flames around the cavern.

He finally saw his chance when the dragon's wings were facing him, and the water he held shot forward at lightening speed. Elora cried out loudly when it hit and for a second he feared he had hit her instead.

The dragon had fallen into her, giving her the chance to knock him backwards to the ground, yelling while she did. It didn't take long for the dragon to get back up, spreading his wings wide as he glared at Nyal.

The dragon breathed in deep and Nyal thought back to the first time they had fought, when he had breathed fire.

"No!" Nyal bellowed, forming a wall of water and pushing it towards his enemy as the flames spread outwards from the dragon's mouth. Darren fell to the ground again just as Elora landed, her inky wings spread out wide behind her, a terrifying symbol of their heroics.

Darkness spilled from her hands, worming its way around the dragon's legs and holding tight. Without saying a word, she lifted him high above the ground, holding him upside down in the air. He roared, breathing fire as he twisted in the air.

"Now, Nyal!" Elora cried, pulling at the dragon's arms with the darkness so that he was stretched like a star, head facing the floor. He pulled at all the water in his flask, balling it up in front of him. He put all of his concentration, all of his power, all of his want to defeat the dragon into the ball of clear blue water.

It shot forward before he even realised, the most powerful ball of water he had ever seen, flying towards a creature that shouldn't even be in the realm. It seemed so impossible, but here it was, it was happening, and they were winning.

The dragon screamed in pain, the most primal sound Nyal had ever heard. It was as though the water went through him, tearing at him, ripping at him. Blood poured down to the ground and he was still alive.

Elora dropped him, and he landed with a loud thud on his back on the ground, groaning loudly. He tried to to push himself up on bleeding on, spreading tattered wings. He coughed, blood dribbling through his lips.

Elora stalked forward, kicking the dragon down with a booted foot. She bent down, ignoring the way he clawed at her hands, grabbing at the chunk of wood in his pocket. "You will never win," she snarled, and Nyal grinned, immense pride for the demigod washing over him.

There was no way the dragon would survive, no way they could get the answers they sought, but also no way for it to open the Gate anymore. Veridun was safe, all they had to do was finish the job.

He moved forward as Elora turned to face him, the Key safely in her hand. He pulled on the water left over from his attacks, immediately freezing it in to a sharp pointed icicle.

But he couldn't see the dragon past Eloras huge wings, couldn't see what he was preparing to do.

Elora screamed as blindingly bright fire hit her in the back, covering her wings, burning her hair and cloak. She dropped quickly, unconscious from the pain, the flames never going out. The flames dissipated from the dragon's mouth as he stood, a smirk forming on his face.

"No!" Nyal yelled. "Elora!" He looked at the icicle hovering in the air in front of him, unsure of what to do. Save Elora, or save the realm.

The hesitation cost him, and he didn't even know it for some time. All of a sudden, all he felt was pain, deep in his stomach, vaguely hearing the sound of something shattering and a groan he wasn't sure was his or Elora's.

"I will always win," Darren snarled, pulling his hand from Nyal's stomach. His blood coated his hand.

"No," Nyal groaned, clutching at the gaping hole in his abdomen. He fell to his knees, watching as the dragon grabbed the Key from Elora's pale hand. She stirred, but didn't wake, letting him take the Key from her like taking food from a child. "No."

"Like I told you, kid, I can't leave behind any witnesses," the dragon told him, sounding almost sorry. He walked away, out of Nyal's vision. He tried to turn his head, but instead just fell on the ground next to Elora, only able to listen to what was going on.

It some time before he heard anything more than footsteps. There was a tinkle, like water falling onto glass, and the sound of burning wood, a long gust of air and the sound of cracking rock.

Then an almighty roar, louder than he had ever heard, like a thousand dragons crying out all at once. Footsteps thundering, like the ground itself was moving. Hundreds of them, thousands of them, a stampede of monsters.

Nyal choked on blood, pulling at the water he had dropped. Only enough to heal one of them, and even if he could, how was he going to get them out? Elora was still on the ground, only just breathing, the fire had gone out, but the smell of burning flesh lingered.

"My name - My birth name - Is Darius," he heard the dragon call, realising that he was talking to the first thing to come out of the Gate. "I am half dragon, half warlock, born after you were locked away. I set you free!"

"Why did you wait so long, halfbreed?" the most chilling voice Nyal had ever heard asked. It hissed and growled and spat, making for a haunting sound.

"I-" the dragon hesitated for moment, as if he hadn't expected the question. Nyal brought the water to the hole in his torso. If he could just get Elora out, they would be okay. "The Key was hard to find."

Nothing was said for a while and only thundering footsteps could be heard. Then, another voice spoke, "We thank you, halfbreed," it said, not sounding thankful at all. "But we have no further use for something part warlock." It spat the final word out like it was poison.

Then, just as Nyal got a hold of the water, all he could hear was screaming. So loud, so terrified, so betrayed. Darren, Darius, the dragon, was screaming. Why? What was happening?

The familiar crackle of flames, the sound of something hitting the ground. The screaming ceased and Nyal still hadn't healed his stomach properly, his vision turning black at the edges.

"Come! We are free!" the same voice yelled. A thousand voices cried out in response, like a war cry.

The dragon was dead, the Zlohiel released. Elora unconscious and Nyal on the verge of dying. The realm was done for, he had failed in saving it. But he could still save Elora. All he had to do was heal his stomach, pull Elora to safety, and run. All he had to do, all he could do.

The Zlohiel were swarming out of the Gate, filling the cavern to the brim. Any second now they would spot him lying on the cold ground. Any second now they would kill him. He needed to get to Elora, but he was never going to make it in time.

A.N: That's all folks! There is a sequel, titled The Healer. It will be up on my page once I have edited it a bit, because it's a mess, but it is already completed. It should be posted in the next couple of weeks, I just need a little break from this universe first. 
I hope you all enjoyed The Gate Keeper! Don't forget to check on my patreon if you want to see more of my writing. The link is on my profile